Chapter 7

The moving staircases of the castle boggled the minds of the new first years as the prefects from the Gryffindor house led them to the common room. They went up a couple of staircases, had to wait until one moved for them, and then came down a hall and stopped at a tall painting of a woman in a beautiful pink dress.

"Password?" she asked, glancing down at them.

"Tempus fugit," the prefect said confidently. The lady gave them another glance and waved her hand. The portrait swung forward and Finn stared around the other students at a large hole in the wall.

Everyone clambered through it until they stood in the center of a large room with several sofas and chairs before an enormous fireplace that kept the room at just the right warmth. Finn could see himself falling asleep in front of it exactly at the moment, feeling so full that he could barely walk.

"This is the Gryffindor common room. Make sure not to forget the password," one of the prefects, the girl, said firmly, "Girls follow me and I'll lead you upstairs to your dormitory."

"Boys, follow me," the other prefect said. Finn and Charlie said goodnight to Rebecca, and Rhys followed them as the prefect led them towards the staircase.

When they finally arrived in their dormitory, Finn found his trunk already sitting beside a bed, along with his owl and the cage, sitting on his nightstand and calm as ever.

"Talon!" Charlie said happily, picking up the small cage that housed his pet.

"All of your belongings should be accounted for," the boy said, almost professionally. "Since I'm in charge of you lot for the next week or so, if you have any questions, you ask me."

"What's your name?" Rhys asked obviously. The boy stared at him before answering.

"Stephens. Artie Stephens. Just ask for me."

"All right. Thanks, Artie," Finn said tiredly with a small wave. The prefect closed the door and Charlie looked over at Finn, Talon in his arms, making a loud whir sound that Finn assumed was purring. He sat down on the bed and cradled the black kitten in his arms, staring at the blankets beneath him as he rocked back and forth.

"Not as soft as my bed at home," he said with a shrug, looking at Finn, who also sat on his bed.

"I suppose we should get some sleep then," the darker haired boy said, kicking his feet back and forth lightly as he stared around. The two of them looked over at Rhys and the other boys, who were already somehow in their pajamas and getting into bed. Charlie glanced at Finn and raised his eyebrows.

"You should let your owl out," Charlie offered. Whether this was out of concern for the owl, or just to see the bird up close, Finn didn't know. He bet on the latter to himself. "Let him fly around outside tonight. I bet he's itching for a hunt," he added with a smile at Finn's friend in the cage.

"Don't you dare let that thing out in here!" Rhys said immediately, still holding his blanket up as he was about to lie down. The two boys stared at him, dumbfounded.

"Why not?" Finn asked.

"Just - don't," Rhys said in a huff, lying down and rolling so his back was towards them. After a second, they saw the blanket rise over his head and tuck in tightly. When Charlie turned his head back around, he raised his eyebrows with a silent whistle. Finn rolled his eyes and bent down regardless, opening the metal cage door and holding out his arm.

The owl clicked his beak and stretched out his long talons, climbing gently onto Finn and settling there after ruffling his wings. Charlie went over to one of the windows and pushed it open with a small grunt. As Finn approached, the owl seemed to grow anxious for a flight.

"It's okay, he'll probably come back in the morning," Charlie reassured, noticing the sad look on Finn's face at separating from the bird. "Besides, the owlery here is huge. I'm sure he'll have a great time."

"Yeah," Finn smiled. "I just wish I knew what to call him, at least."

"You haven't named him yet?" Charlie asked, almost astounded.

"I couldn't think of anything good enough."

The owl scooted down Finn's arm until it ached, and with a lurch, it kicked off from his wrist and nearly plummeted out of the sky. Finn blinked in shock and then watched the beautiful array of black and gray feathers float up and disappear easily into the night.

"Wow," Charlie whispered. After a pause, Finn closed the window and Charlie continued. "I can't believe you haven't given him a name yet. Have you thought of one at all?"

"I don't know," Finn shrugged, taking off his robes and looking through his trunk for his pajamas. "What would you name an owl if you had one?"

"Tenley," he answered immediately, picking up Talon and moving him to his pillow so he could sit down and take off his shoes.

"Tenley?" Finn repeated. He quirked an eyebrow at the name, but figured it could work for something like an owl. Personally, he saw it as a fitting name for another cat. "Hm."

"You should name him Tenley. When I wanted an owl, I wanted a big Eagle Owl. I love them. And this one time I saw one in the shop, and he was black and copper, and I told mum I wanted him, but we couldn't get him because - "

"Some of us are trying to sleep," they heard an irritated voice float from one of the beds. Whether it had been Rhys or another, Finn wasn't sure. Charlie instead lowered his voice and kept talking.

The two continued whispering to each other even as they changed and got into bed, staring at each other from under the covers and muttering excitedly about which class they were more anxious for. One of the other boys got in on the conversation once or twice before Rhys finally asked them all to "kindly shut up" and tossed a pillow in Charlie's direction.

When Finn finally yawned so wide that he felt he had no air left in his lungs, he pulled the warm blankets up to his chin and settled into his own pillow as Charlie tossed the other back at Rhys.

The last thing Finn remembered before slumber finally came upon him was the decision to name his owl Tenley, and thank Charlie about it in the morning.